Setting in "A Raisin in the Sun" Essay

Setting in "A Raisin in the Sun"

In the play, "A Raisin in the Sun," by Lorraine Handsberry, the primary setting is the apartment of the Youngers family. In fact, the majority of the action of the play occurs within the confines of the family apartment. The plot of the play is focuses upon the apartment as well -- what the apartment is, and what the apartment is not. Primary, the apartment is not an adequate domicile for the Youngers family for a variety of reasons, which play out over the course of the narrative. The apartment is arguably a character in the play, just as the Youngers family members and the other assorted characters are in "A Raisin in the Sun." The paper will explain how the description of the Youngers' apartment contributes to the mood of the play.

Before describing the internal elements of the apartment, understanding where the apartment is physically in space helps the reader gain some insight as to the mood of the play. The apartment is in the slums or very poor and dangerous areas in the city of Chicago.Not only is it in Chicago, an American city with quite a history of notorious criminal activity, but also the family lives on the south side of Chicago, an area with a reputation for being one of the most dangerous parts of the city. They are an African-American family living in the poorest part of the most dangerous part of town during the 1950s, the decade that precedes the Civil Rights Movement. During this time in America, many people who are not white and especially African-Americans were targeted and brutalized by various agencies of the government, including the local police departments. Therefore, the setting of the apartment, before the readers know what the interior of the place looks like, provides a great deal of insight as to the nature of the tone….....